Cortland residents urged the City Council on May 22, 2025, to take concrete action on recurring flooding along Walnut Creek and nearby neighborhoods and to hire a qualified public service director after repeated basement flooding and infrastructure failures, speakers said during the meeting's public-comment period.

The issue surfaced in individual stories and technical concerns. Resident Mike Bethini said his home on Butternut Circle flooded in April and that he later sold the house for $25,000 less than his earlier asking price after the basement flooded. "My fully finished basement completely flooded, and I lost my sale," Bethini told the council. Several other residents described long-standing problems with collapsed or silted storm lines, broken manhole rings, and catch basins that clog and overflow during heavy rain.

The comments put the spotlight on two related concerns: immediate flood response and longer-term stormwater infrastructure. A council member and staff said the city is seeking a quote for a flood-mitigation study from GPD Engineering and expects the city to receive that quote before the next council meeting; a staff member said, "We are getting a price ... I saw a draft," and confirmed the study would evaluate flows, retention needs and facility upgrades. Residents pressed for clear deliverables from any study, including cost estimates and a mitigation plan.

Several longtime residents and a former service-department employee who spoke at the meeting criticized the city's staffing and management of its service department. Jerry Burke, who identified himself as having 25 years of service with the city, defended a former on-duty employee's actions during April flooding and said the city had not given clear direction: "He deliberately pumped it into the creek," Burke said of an on-site decision to pump sewerage into Walnut Creek during response efforts, arguing the worker acted from lack of options. Multiple speakers said the city has not had a consistently licensed wastewater operator as required by state rules and that the current job posting and candidate pool did not match the technical needs described by residents.

Residents and former employees described a history of studies and partial fixes dating back 20–30 years. Jerry Burke and others said prior smoke testing and studies identified collapsed pipe and infiltration in the Lancaster/Old Oak/Walnut Creek area but that follow-up capital work had not been completed; an older estimate for a large retention option was recalled at roughly $3,000,000. Councilmembers and staff said a new study would include camera inspection, smoke testing and recommendations for lift-station upgrades, forced-main capacity, and retention or detention options.

On staffing, speakers said the city received few resumes for the public service director role and that some strong candidates left the process. Council discussion included suggestions to rewrite the service-director job description and re-advertise; one commenter recommended a technical lead on the rewrite. A list of service-department employees was read into the record by staff, naming several current employees and two temporary seasonal hires; speakers asked for clarity on head count and permanence.

No formal vote or ordinance was taken on the flood-mitigation study or staffing during the public-comment period. Council and staff indicated the next steps would include presenting the engineering quote to council for approval and considering revisions to the service-director job description and recruitment process.

The meeting record and public comment showed strong neighborhood concern over both short-term flood response and long-term infrastructure investment; speakers asked the council to provide clearer timelines, deliverables for any study and a plan for hiring a service director with field and licensure experience to supervise capital work and emergency response.